Fallout
by Foxie5221
Summary: Hiccup and Toothless fall out of the sky, Hiccup falls out with Astrid and Hiccup has a bit of an emotional fallout. Rated K for vivid description of injury. Set quite early in Race to the Edge. Gift of the Nightfury never happened.
1. Chapter 1

It wasn't true. It just wasn't true. She was only saying it because she was jealous…of how close he was with Toothless. Yeah, that was it, she was jealous of his incredible relationship with his dragon. That was why she had said… it. It was simple jealousy and based on nothing.

He kicked open the stable door, not caring as it smashed into the wooden wall. Toothless had evidently been asleep but now he was sitting up with his ears all askew- probably the closest a dragon could get to bed hair. His lolling pink tongue was hanging out of his mouth and his pale green eyes were looking at the doorway in a somewhat confused manner. Hiccup strode into the stable and climbed onto Toothless. But instead of easily slotting into the stirrup he had made with his own bare hands, his stupid metal leg just simply wouldn't fit. It was like it was telling him that he and Toothless didn't fit, that he was forcing them together. As he tried harder and harder his hands became more and more clumsy and after a couple of minutes Toothless turned to him and gave a questioning rumble. Finally after 5 whole minutes, during which Toothless actually fell asleep again, he managed to shove his foot in. One sharp wake up kick later, the night fury rocketed into the dawn.

Usually their early morning flights were leisurely and scenic but today it was fast paced and urgent. They were a blur, neither in the past or present. Hiccup wished they could stay in that moment forever, where the past didn't matter and the future would never come. But it passed and so they flew faster, searching for that perfect equilibrium. They weaved between sea stacks, him guiding Toothless between tighter and tighter gaps, and Toothless following him because he trusted him not because he had to. They barrel rolled through a crevice in the rocks, nosedived towards the great black ocean, pulling up at the last minute then loop the looping because there was a bond between them that was stronger than simple ownership. He went faster and faster, as flight that had once seemed effortless turned into a feat of strength, as the wings that carried him beat with more and more effort. He'd never flown this fast for this long ever before but then no one had ever said that before, not even Snotlout. He pulled into a sheer turn and powered forwards.

But he wasn't going forwards, he was falling and Toothless was screaming. Clouds fell away from them as they plummeted to the ground. His stupid leg was stuck in the stirrup and Toothless was shaking like when he'd just been swimming, like Hiccup was something he wanted to be rid of. He finally succeeded in flinging Hiccup off and he was catapulted into the ocean. Hitting the water felt like being smacked in the face with a piece of metal and the sheer frigidity of it was almost paralysing. He struggled upwards and was relieved to see he had landed only about 10 metres from a rocky island. Although it took up nearly all his strength, he heaved himself up to the shingle beach and lay down.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey, you guys! " Astrid poked her head round the clubhouse door, "Have any of you seen Hiccup?".

"Of course, he lives here,duh" responded Tuff helpfully.

"I meant today" she retorted.

"Um, the last time I saw him was yesterday. What if he's hurt! What if he's lost! What if he's been kidnapped by pirates!" Fishlegs exclaimed in terror.

"Aww, how come he gets to be kidnapped." Tuff really was on fire today.

"I can kidnap you."volunteered Ruff, miraculously producing a large sack and proceeding to attempt to put it over Tuff's head.

Astrid stalked out. She knew Fishlegs was just being paranoid as usual but even so the seed of doubt had been planted. She leapt onto Stormfly and gave her a reassuring pat. "Let's just do a quick check around the edge eh girl, you know, just to be sure they're ok." Stormfly rose into the air and with her slow graceful wing-beats began the search.

Hiccup's back ached and he felt like he'd been pelted with stones for hours on end. Looking at his hands, he saw the imprint of a thousand tiny pebbles on his palms. Then, he realised he could hear a sound; a desperate wail full of pain and agony. Even though he'd never heard anything like it before, he still knew exactly what it was- it was his poor, wonderful, beautiful dragon. Filled with a sudden desperate energy, he sprang up and ran as fast as he possibly could towards the source of that heart-wrenching cry.

They'd been flying for hours but Stormfly, evidently sensing her mistress's distress, still checked every single cave and overhang. The edge had been left behind long ago and they were now swooping between unknown islands that she had never seen before. "He can't have gone this far" Astrid mused to herself. She could feel Stormfly begin to tire beneath her and, as much as she wanted to keep searching, she knew Stormfly was working twice as hard as she was. She gave the horizon one last sweeping glance, then turned back and began the long journey home. Maybe he had simply gone for an early morning flight and they had missed each other. She'd land on the platform and he'd be there, lounging against Toothless, probably fiddling with some gadget. But the seed of doubt refused to die. What if this had all happened because of yesterday?

The desperate cry echoed throughout the ravine that Hiccup now found himself in. He scrambled through the rocks littering the floor, barely able to see his feet by the narrow chink of sunlight that penetrated the gloom. Finally, covered in all sorts of cuts and scratches inflicted by the unforgiving boulders, he emerged into a clearing. There lay his beautiful dragon. His innocent, curious eyes were wide and rolling, his wings were beating helplessly and he was constantly making that devastating scream. Hiccup ran towards him and threw his arms around his best friend's sweaty neck. "Shh Bud it's ok now, it's ok, shh, come on, we can fly back to the edge and then Fishlegs will have something to make you feel better. Let's get you up now, good boy." He gently climbed onto his terrified dragon's trembling back. Like he always did, he used the stirrup to open out Toothless' tail but instead of springing into the air, the night fury gave another shriek of pain and crumpled beneath him.

Hiccup jumped off immediately and ran over to Toothless' tail. Then he sank to the ground against his poor boy and howled. His tail was broken. There was no other word for it. The sharp connecting rod had snapped and dug jaggedly into his dragon's tail, flinging it at such an angle that his remaining fluke had broken in at least four places. Most of the skin and scales had been ripped off and almost all of the tendons were torn. It was a mess of blood and flesh… and it had happened when he had made that last tight turn. He had done this. Astrid was right.


	3. Chapter 3

It was all her fault. Astrid lay prostrate on her bed. He was gone and it was all her fault. She recalled their argument the night before. He had been in the forge, tinkering with his fire sword while Toothless snoozed in the corner. She had stood in the doorway a while and watched him work, trying to sum up the courage to say to him something that she had been trying to say since they were 16. Watching him work just reinforced her decision, every single time he encountered a problem he experimented until he found a solution. "What you doing?" she asked casually.

"Just making a couple of improvements " he responded distractedly, his back to her.

"I haven't seen you working on Toothless' tail in a while, "she mused innocently, "I bet if you worked on it for a while you could create one that gives him more independence." The effect was immediate. He stopped working but didn't put down the sword. He took a deep breath. "What are you saying?". The tone of his voice could have made a bloodthirsty Viking chief hesitate but Astrid was determined.

"It's just that …" she began.

"Are you saying that I could make Toothless fly again and I'm choosing not to "

"Um…"

"Are you saying that I am denying him the gift of flight simply because I'm scared he would leave me if he could?"

"No, I just thought …"

"You thought what, that you could swan in here and accuse me of ruining my dragon's life" He thrust the sword to the floor, waking Toothless with a start. "Come on boy" He was gone in an instant, leaving Astrid standing alone in the doorway.

She had done this. Of course Hiccup had tried to help his dragon fly;he would do anything for him, he had defied his father and centuries of tradition for him. "We've got to try girl, just one more look." Stormfly gave her her very best 'I've just flown halfway round the archipelago and now you expect me to do it again ' look. "Please girl, I'll give you chicken." They were airborne in less than 5 seconds.

The afternoon sun was slowly sinking in the sky and Astrid knew if they didn't find them by nightfall they would have to cease the search. Stormfly, who was hyped up on chicken, flew fast but still they saw nothing. She would have to turn back- and know she'd failed.

Then she heard it, a desperate scream full of pain and agony. Soon they were cruising over a small rocky island which echoed with that scream. Stormfly dropped effortlessly out of the sky and landed in a huge open ravine. There they lay, Toothless lying still but howling and Hiccup leaning against him. His thick coarse hair stood at wild angles from his head, his knees were drawn up to his chest and his face was buried in his hands. He was shaking with dry sobs and hiccuping occasionally. He was much taller than her now, but she was reminded of the skinny 15 yr old boy who had been no bigger than her and had been dwarfed by the likes of Snotlout, who he now towered over. She ran over to him and flung her arms around his heaving body."I'm so glad you're ok" she whispered, "I've been looking for you all day. I'm so sorry about what I said last night. I know you would never do a thing like that. You've only ever protected and loved him …"

"No you were right"

"What?"

"I've been keeping Toothless close by me, I can make him fly. I just won't." She was taken aback by his admission. For a couple of seconds words failed her but she had to comfort him. "And now you can make a contraption to do that- and everything will be forgotten."

"I can't " he sobbed.

"Yes, you can. I know it'll be hard but if anyone can do it you can"

"No, I can't. Look." He got up slowly and took her proffered hand. They walked to where Toothless' tail had been. Astrid couldn't speak. It looked awful, horrendous, so many words flashed through her mind. No wonder the poor dragon had been screaming. "How did he do that?"

"He didn't do it. I did,"

"What do you mean?"

"I pushed him into a really tight turn and something just snapped…and…and…" he broke off, consumed again by the desperate sobs. Astrid didn't know how to console him- what could she say? Instead she sat down beside him and laid a hand gently on his leg. Stormfly came over and ,as the stars begin to appear, she made them a small fire to take away the chill of the night.

But it was still freezing and Astrid gently pulled Hiccup up and led him, like a child learning to walk, to where Stormfly stood. Toothless lay still and quiet, bathed in the moonlight he looked almost ghostly. She quickly pushed that thought out of her mind. With Hiccup dragging the head and her holding what was left of poor Toothless' tail they managed to roll him onto Stormfly's back. They clambered up themselves and flew away; into the long winter night.


End file.
